Rinkcast host Andy Campbell and co-host Eric Andrews are joined by Rink staffers Ray Napientek, Sean Fitzgerald, and Andrew Bard to discuss the termination of head coach Jeremy Colliton

• With Derek King appointed as interim head coach, will the Hawks turn their season around?
• Is King the long term solution or merely a bandaid until they hire a more seasoned replacement?

Watch the entire replay of the Facebook live right here:

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— The Rink — Chicago Blackhawks (@TheRinkChi) November 6, 2021

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The post Blackhawks Rinkcast – Season 5, Episode 6 – Jeremy Colliton fired appeared first on The Rink.

The Blackhawks have relieved Jeremy Colliton, Tomas Mitell and Sheldon Brookbank of their coaching duties and have named Derek King Interim Head Coach, effective immediately. https://t.co/2PggeNtIY4

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) November 6, 2021

The move comes as Interim General Manager Kyle Davidson’s first significant decision, and Blackhawks ownership shared their support of Davidson’s choice.

“On the ice, Interim General Manager Kyle Davidson has our full confidence and autonomy to make hockey decisions, and we support him on this coaching change,” said Blackhawks CEO Danny Wirtz in a press release. “We appreciate all that Jeremy has brought to the Blackhawks, and we look forward to working with Derek as our interim head coach while we work to rebuild our permanent hockey operations leadership.”

Davidson noted his confidence in King, as King’s NHL playing experience, professional hockey coaching experience and familiarity with many of the young players in the organization will help him lead the team during the search for a permanent replacement.

King was hired to take Colliton’s spot as the head coach of the IceHogs on an interim basis on Nov. 6, 2018, and the interim tag was removed on April 25, 2019.

While the trio of Colliton, Brookbank and Mitell head out the door, Dylan Crawford, Marc Crawford, Matt Meacham and Jimmy Waite will remain on the team’s coaching staff. With King’s promotion to Chicago, Rockford Assistant Coach Anders Sorensen will step into the head coaching role with the IceHogs on an interim basis beginning tonight.

Colliton’s tenure with the Blackhawks was nothing short of rocky, posting an 87–92–26 record in just under three years of calendar time. Colliton was brought on as the team’s head coach in the firing of then-bench boss Joel Quenneville. Expected to serve as an innovative new voice for the franchise, Colliton largely failed to earn the trust and respect of his team, and the results clearly showed on the ice. Colliton’s poor showing behind the bench was capped by a miserable 1–9–2 start to this season.

“Our on-ice goal remains the same: To build an elite system of hockey—and we have not delivered on that,” Davidson said in the press release. “The fact is our play and competitiveness must improve. Every game, every shift. Today’s coaching changes are difficult, especially given the incredible personal connections Jeremy and others have made with our players in their development. We appreciate Jeremy’s contributions to the organization over the last three seasons, and we wish him and his family the best.”

The new-look Blackhawks will have their first chance to prove themselves under their new leader on Sunday, hosting the Nashville Predators for a 6 p.m. CST puck drop.

The post BREAKING: Blackhawks fire Jeremy Colliton appeared first on The Rink.

Before the 2017–18 season, the IceHogs had not made the playoffs since the 2015–16 season, and they were defeated in the first round. Since becoming a Blackhawks affiliate, the IceHogs had never made it past the second round until Colliton came along. The IceHogs making the playoffs and winning two series were pushed as an accomplishment and testaments to his coaching ability.

However, when you dig deep (or not so deep) into 2017–18 roster, you will find it filled with fringe NHL players. So, while viewed as an accomplishment at the time, the Blackhawks’ front office might have sold us a bag of fool’s gold.

Let’s not forget adding to the IceHogs’ roster was a change over the philosophy from the prior season. The prior season, the IceHogs traded away their top two scorers at the trade deadline in Spencer Abbott and Mark McNeill—not household NHL names, but AHL scorers nonetheless.

So, let’s look deeper at the Colliton-led 2017–18 IceHogs roster.

• Lance Bouma — Played in 53 games with the Blackhawks that season and was sent down to be playoff eligible. He appeared in all 13 playoff games for the Hogs that year. He had one goal and one assist.
• Gustav Forsling — He is currently playing with the Florida Panthers and appeared in 41 games with Blackhawks in 2017–18 before being sent down to Rockford for the playoff push. He had one goal and four assists while appearing in all 13 playoff games.
• Cody Franson — A long-time NHL player by the time he joined the Blackhawks’ organization in 2017–18, Franson was far and away the most experienced player on Rockford’s roster. Franson piled up 550 career NHL games, all of which came prior to Rockford’s 2018 playoff run.
• John Hayden — Appeared in 47 games with Chicago that season. After spending 22 games in Rockford, he was moved back down for the playoff run. He had 13 NHL points that season. He is currently on the Buffalo Sabres’ roster. Hayden had three goals in the AHL playoffs with the Hogs in 13 games.
• David Kampf — The current phenom in Toronto was sent down to Rockford for the playoff push after appearing 49 games with the Blackhawks that season. He had 11 NHL points and appeared in all 13 Rockford playoff games. He had one goal in those 13 games.
• Andreas Martinsen — Appeared in 64 games with the IceHogs that season and nine games with the Blackhawks. He two goals and three assists in 13 IceHogs playoff games. He appeared in 152 NHL games for his career.

Other names to mention are Adam Clendening, Carl Dahlstrom, Matthew Highmore and Tanner Kero. All of these guys were end-of-the-roster guys in the NHL either before or after that 2017–18 season. Franson was so liked by the Blackhawks that they brought him back in 2020–21 to offer a veteran presence on the ice in Rockford.

You may remember many of these names, but to drive home the point further, the total amount of NHL games played by Rockford’s 2018 playoffs roster is staggering. That group tallied 1,481 regular season NHL games prior to that playoff run. Even if you remove Franson’s 550, the count is still well over 900 NHL games played.

Another telling fact about this roster was its lack of prospects. The closest thing this roster had to a prospect was Anthony Louis, who had spent the last prior season in Rockford after graduating from Miami University. Louis turned out to be a career AHL player.

AHL playoff opponents

In the playoffs, the IceHogs swept the Chicago Wolves 3–0 in the first round. The Wolves’ roster was not composed of nearly as many NHL players. Brandon Pirri and Teemu Pulkkinen were the only two players with any significant NHL experience coming into that series.

In the next round, the IceHogs dispatched the Manitoba Moose in a four-game sweep. Michael Sgarbossa had the most NHL experience heading into that series. He appeared 48 games from 2012–13 to 2016–17 with three different teams. He has only appeared in five NHL games since then. Now, Brendan Lemiuex has the most NHL experience from that Moose squad, appearing 181 games between the Winnipeg Jets, New York Rangers and Los Angeles Kings.

When Colliton’s teams had more NHL talent on them in the AHL playoffs, his team won.

Eliminated from the AHL playoffs

In the Western Conference Finals, the Hogs fell to the Texas Stars 4–2. The Stars had several guys with NHL experience, including Brian Flynn (275 NHL games) and Curtis McKenzie (99 NHL games).

The Stars also had young group of prospects who went on to to become NHL regulars. Roope Hintz, who is currently with the Dallas Stars, has appeared in 164 NHL games since that series. Denis Gruianov appeared in 74 games with the Texas Stars that season and now has appeared in 146 NHL games since that playoff series. Jason Dickinson, a current member of the Stars, appeared in 42 games with the Texas Stars that season. He has 227 NHL games under his belt.

So, when the Colliton-led IceHogs ran into a team with younger, superior talent and some NHL talent, they were defeated in six games.

Analysis

In his one season as the Rockford bench boss, Colliton coached fringe NHL players and virtually no prospects. When the playoffs came around, his roster got loaded up with more NHL players, which gave him superior talent and a decisive edge over the first two teams he faced. When his team faced a team with fairly similar talent in the playoffs, his team was defeated.

As much as the Blackhawks sold the fans that his run to the AHL Western Conference Finals was such a great success, it was only used to reinforce the front office’s decision.

In his first season as Chicago’s coach, it was decided to scratch Colliton’s system in favor or a free-wheeling style because the team did not have success with it. After a full training camp the following offseason, the system still did not take hold with the Blackhawks. The third year was more of the same. The Blackhawks are now in the fourth season of the same system with new players and the results are even worse.

His system was never given the chance in Rockford to experience failure or time to adapt. Now, it is failing at the NHL level, and there is no adapting from the coaching staff. There is only uninspired bad hockey. The Blackhawks rushed Colliton to the NHL, like so many of their prospects, only to watch them fail and sometimes fail miserably. Colliton was sold to fans as a Patrick Kane-level talent coaching wise and he currently is a Dylan Sikura-level talent coaching wise.

This is the danger of overhyping and inflating players and coaches. The Blackhawks have a bad habit of letting those overhyped prospects crash and burn, and it appears as though the same fate is quickly approaching for Colliton.

The post The rise and imminent fall of Jeremy Colliton appeared first on The Rink.

Since Colliton took over as the Blackhawks’ head coach, the team has ranked near the bottom of the league in 5-on-5 play. Natural Stat Trick has the Blackhawks ranked 26th in goals allowed since the 2018–19 season and 10th in goals for since 2018–19 while playing 5-on-5 hockey. They have scored 430 goals and allowed 456 goals, which is a net of -26 goals.

Now, factor in special teams, which includes the penalty kill and power play, and the Blackhawks actually rank lower than at 5-on-5. They rank 29th with 689 goals allowed and 19th in goals scored with 634.

So, in the offseason, General Manager Stan Bowman tried to improve their team overall, adding junk from other teams in Marc-Andre Fleury, Tyler Johnson and Seth Jones. One man’s junk is another man’s treasure, but it turns out the Blackhawks might have bought some fool’s gold. Thus far, those additions have not panned out. In fact, they are having a worse 5-on-5 season. This season, the Blackhawks have been outscored 17–3 during 5-on-5 play. According to the Natural Stat Trick, they are currently ranked last in goals allowed and last in goals scored 5-on-5 on this season. The recap of the last game spells it out how putrid the Blackhawks have been 5-on-5 this season.

Now, it has been only five games and people theoretically should not be panicking because it is a long season, but this has been the norm under Colliton and his system.

Buckle up, Blackhawks fans. We are in for a bumpy ride.

The post The Blackhawks are a bad 5-on-5 team and have been for awhile appeared first on The Rink.

“It’s always there,” Colliton said in the presser. “There was pressure from the first day I got here. It’s up to us and it’s up to me to find a new way to give these guys what they need to perform at their highest level.”

In Chicago’s 0–4–1 start, the team’s worst start in 20 years, the team has yet to have a lead in 300:57 minutes played. This would not be as alarming if the Blackhawks’ second-longest streak was last season (226:06 minutes), but something is not working, and it has been prevalent for more than five early games this season. There is something in Colliton’s “system” that has been failing for more than this early season start.

Chicago has been outscored 21–9 this season and has only mustered three even-strength goals. A team that was horrible at 5-on-5 play last season, the Blackhawks rarely generate any sustained pressure in the offensive zone, have zero puck possession (or any cycling for that matter) and have a poor net-front presence. On most occasions, Chicago has one shot one goal and is out of the offensive zone in the blink of an eye. The New York Islanders took advantage of Chicago’s lack of size and did an excellent job of boxing out the Blackhawks from any rebounds on Tuesday. Vancouver was just as successful Thursday.

The most frightening quality in Chicago’s play is the lack of desperation. Outside of a quick start in the home opener against the Islanders, Chicago has looked methodical, slow to react and out-classed for the majority of this young season. If the top-level players are not producing, this team does not have the secondary fire power to get things done on the scoresheet. The roster structure (a completely different problem) does not give Colliton a ton of options outside of a select few.

To summarize Thursday’s game: Colliton allowed Dylan Strome to play after watching four games in the press box. Alex DeBrincat scored his second goal of the season to tie the game 1–1 at the 8:26 mark in the first period. Patrick Kane and Seth Jones assisted on the goal. Vancouver would outscore Chicago 3–0 the rest of the way en route to a 4–1 victory for the visitors.

Chicago led 30–25 in shots.

The good

— Patrick Kane celebrated his 1,000th career game with his family by his side after hitting the milestone last season. Kane had wanted to wait for a formal celebration until fans were able to return to the United Center.

— Alex DeBrincat continues to show he can be a force with the puck on his stick.

The bad

— Coming back after missing last season, Jonathan Toews has zero points to start the season. He mentioned after the home opener at the post-game presser that his conditioning needs to get better. It is tough to watch the Captain struggle after all he has done for this organization. It would be great to see him get it going.

— Chicago’s 0–4–1 record is the worst start in 20 years.

— The lack of urgency. To say the first five games of the season have been poor would be a disservice to how poor the play has been for three seasons.

— General Manager Stan Bowman is the mastermind behind this organization.

The Blackhawks will look for their first win of the season when they return to the ice on Sunday, hosting the Detroit Red Wings for a 6 p.m. CDT puck drop.

The post Hawks fall to Canucks 4–1, pressure turned up on Colliton appeared first on The Rink.

In a recent, “Laz and Powers” podcast, Mark Lazerus of The Athletic stated, “They have done really well playing the youth with the goalies and the forwards.” Have they really done a good job of seeing just what they have with the young goalies? I would strongly argue that they have not, or they only have to a lesser degree.

The player with the most NHL experience was Malcolm Subban, who was a throw-in to the Lehner deal to even out the number of goalies on the roster. He was a former first-round draft pick of the Boston Bruins and was not able to nail down a backup role anywhere he has been. In fact, Subban became a bit of a lightning rod for hate in Vegas due to his complete lack of consistency. He was statistically one of the worst goalies in the entire NHL at the time of the Lehner trade.

The second in line was Collin Delia, maybe one of the most underappreciated players in the entire Blackhawks system. A free agent out of Merrimack University, he was a Hobey Baker nominee in 2015 with former Blackhawks Nick Schmaltz and Tyler Motte. Delia earned a contract out of prospect camp after showing some real athleticism in the summers of 2016 and 2017. He made his NHL debut in 2018, then getting his first start (and win) in the infamous Scott Foster game, and then was sacrificed to the gods of no defense with Cam Ward in 2018–19. Despite playing behind the worst defense in the entire league for 16 games, he put up a respectable .908 save percentage. Due to the surprise signing of Lehner in the summer of 2019, Delia was relegated to Rockford once again, which led to the 24-year-old being named an AHL all star for his solid play with the IceHogs.

Unfortunately, Blackhawks Head Coach Jeremy Colliton’s unreasonably short leash this January eventually banished Delia to goalie purgatory.

It is hard to believe now but, in January, Kevin Lankinen was the least experienced and third in line. He had some success in the 2018 IIHF World Championships and was also named an AHL all star in 2020, but no one had any idea if his style would translate. He had never played an NHL game. Realistically, no one could predict he would step in and play .930-plus hockey for the first third of the season. He has won the starting position and there is no debating this.

The biggest wild card (and least probable option) was Matt Tomkins. He was a draft pick way back in 2012 and has been toiling around between the AHL and ECHL since 2017. His stats have not been anything special, but one would assume that if the organization was willing to spend a decade developing a prospect, they expect the final product to be more than a marginal AHL/ECHL tweener.

Fast forward to April where the Blackhawks over-performed so well early on that they have been able to hang on to some very improbable playoffs hopes. They have learned quite a bit about the status of the kids in the organization, but Colliton seems to have cut off his nose to spite his face regarding goaltending by hitching his wagon to just Lankinen and Subban. Not that both have not played well, but could Delia or Tomkins be a solution as an NHL backup? Could they be moved for assets? No one knows because the “great communicator” stopped communicating with his goalies and just left them off on shame island.

Over-performing or not, the goal and focus of this season should never have changed from auditioning the kids that can compete at the NHL level. All of them. After the first 10 games, Delia still had better statistics than Subban and Lankinen, yet the door was slammed shut on him after two rust-filled games for no apparent reason.

Two damn games!

Two games in the first four where even Subban gave up five goals per game, as well. There is simply no justification for icing Delia out of the lineup. His save percentage was better than Subban.

Conventional wisdom and Delia’s previous NHL success should be enough to tell you that he could definitely be a serviceable option as a backup. This was supposed to be a “play the kids and see what you have got” year with forwards and defensemen, but, after Lankinen and Subban, have they done that with the goalies?

No.

It is time to see what everyone has, including the goalies. We know Lankinen has won the starting spot, and Subban has played well, but, in a transition year, you need to know what the rest have as well.

The post Net Perspective: Blackhawks’ Colliton needs to look deeper into goaltending appeared first on The Rink.

Colliton was named the 38th bench boss in Chicago Blackhawks history on Nov. 6, 2018, following the dismissal of Joel Quenneville.

Colliton, who turns 36 on Wednesday, immediately became the youngest head coach in the National Hockey League at the time. He has a 62–58–17 record in 137 regular season games with the organization.

OFFICIAL: We’re excited to announce a two-year contract extension for Head Coach Jeremy Colliton.

Congrats, Coach!https://t.co/VGsWa3gniX

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) January 12, 2021

Colliton previously served as head coach of the Blackhawks’ AHL affiliate, the Rockford IceHogs. During his tenure in Rockford, Colliton led the IceHogs to a 40–28–4–4 record during the 2017–18 season. The IceHogs made it to their first-ever 2018 AHL Western Conference Finals after defeating the Chicago Wolves in the Division Semifinals and the Manitoba Moose in the Division Finals.

Prior to becoming a coach, Colliton played eight years of professional hockey within the New York Islanders’ organization after the team selected him with the 58th overall pick in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft. Colliton also coached for four seasons in the Swedish Hockey League with Mora IK.

The post Blackhawks extend Colliton for two more seasons appeared first on The Rink.

At this point, after the impending third straight year of not making the playoffs and not winning a playoff game since 2016, the “professional” writers are still too terrified to call a spade a spade and call this entire organization out for what it is…

B-R-O-K-E-N

The longer that the Blackhawks fanbase accepts McDonough and his entourage of “yes men”  making awful decisions after terrible moves, the longer Chicago will be just another average NHL team in the middle of the pack just scraping by. The Chicago Blackhawks are a broken organization and no one seems to be holding the front office accountable for it. As much as I love to watch Leafs fans meltdown, at least they are holding the team’s decision makers responsible.

For that, I respect them.

It didn’t have to be this way, though. Last summer, when the Blackhawks (by no actions of their own) were gifted the third overall draft pick, Stan Bowman made the right decision by drafting Kirby Dach. It certainly wasn’t the popular decision but drafting Dach over yet another in a long line of “smallish puck moving defensemen” was the right move. Bringing in Calvin de Haan and Olli Maatta for the rights to two players they didn’t want anymore and a middle-six wing (that has since been replaced very nicely by Dominik Kubalik) were sneaky good moves. This brings me to the final move he made which, again, was gifted to him.

Robin Lehner

Late in the day on July 1, when Lehner’s people were scrambling, Bowman had just enough cap space to sign Lehner to a pretty affordable one year deal. Big win! Before Lehner was brought in, Bowman was looking at another season with the fragile Corey Crawford and the inexperienced Collin Delia as his goaltending duo. Fast forward eight months and Lehner has been nothing short of an amazing addition to this team.

Not so fast, though, because it looks as though they are about to screw that up, as well.

If recent reports are correct (and I have no reason to think they aren’t), the negotiations between Lehner and the team have headed south this past week. One might assume that Lehner and his agent are looking to drive his salary into the $9 million or $10 million range, which is something that the Blackhawks certainly should not buy into. Recent reports, though, are that he is looking for a seven-year deal in the range of $7 million to $7.5 million, which is very reasonable for a 28-year-old goalie who was a Vezina Trophy finalist a year ago and is currently (at minimum) a top ten NHL goalie. The same team that is paying $11 million for Lehner and Crawford this season, is allegedly balking at a potential duo (Lehner/Delia) that would be paid $8 million next season.

I’m no math professor, but $8 million sure seems like less than $11 million.

Yes, it’s true that the team could bring back their soon-to-be 36-year-old goalie who has multiple recent major concussions on his resume for a cheaper deal. That is because he’s aging out and has a major head injury history, which are both things you cannot avoid with “hopes and prayers”. Contrary to what one Blackhawks “writer” thinks, the UFA goalie crop this summer is NOT strong. Outside of Lehner and Crawford, the only name on the list that might be able to play at their level is Braden Holtby, who is somehow having an awful season behind one of the best teams in the NHL. You don’t turn that around by playing behind a defense that gives up the most shots in the entire league.

Jeff, surely there have to be more goalies out there, right?

This is the alleged “strong” goalie market they have to choose from July 1:

Craig Anderson
Jaroslav Halak
Anton Khudobin
Thomas Greiss
Mike Smith
Cam Talbot
Jimmy Howard
Pavel Francouz

Francouz is the only one that could potentially be a better-than-Cam Ward level backup. The current Avalanche backup is older than Lehner, though, at 29. Call me crazy, but letting your known asset go to take a huge risk on any of these guys listed above is an enormous gamble with a high likelihood of little-to-no reward. (note – Francouz signed and extension in Colorado)

How has this organization completely screwed themselves like this? The answer? Arrogance.

Last season, when fans had to suffer through Cam Ward and Collin Delia getting their brains beat in on a nightly basis, they kept trying to sell that unrealistic playoff narrative. Stan and company did nothing to open up this roster for a re-tool at the deadline and the team finished with a mediocre draft position. This should have landed them yet another three-year project that could eventually turn into a serviceable NHL player after Kane and Toews were either gone or swiftly riding off into the sunset.

Then, by sheer luck, the third overall pick was dropped into their lap. They got lucky.

None of this happened because Stan Bowman or John McDonough are great at their jobs. How do they follow that up? Another dismal season, potentially reverting their goaltending situation right back into last season’s disarray, One More Shift and more public relations nonsense about the playoffs that they are in no way qualified to compete in.

That is called kicking the can down the road. When will enough be enough? When will fans stop renewing season tickets? When will the fanbase hit the Wirtz cartel where it hurts them most, the pocketbook?

The Chicago organization has been suffocating under a blanket of John McDonough led stupid decisions for at least five years and they just keep getting away with it by spoon-feeding the casual fans with their “just get in the playoffs, anything can happen,” and “anything is possible when you have Toews and Kane on your team” narratives. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, fans, but that’s a bunch of Public Relations nonsense the marketing department is feeding you so you will still spend money on their mediocre-at-best product. You’re all being lied to, treated like idiots, and far too many fans are lapping it up like a big bowl of chicken noodle soup.

You should all be as furious as I am about it!  The time is now, people.

It is time for Rocky Wirtz to put his money where his mouth is and stand firm on this “accountability” he has been preaching about for the last three summers.  Start chopping heads, otherwise, they have just become another franchise repeatedly blowing smoke up everyone’s behinds and they will become victims of their own arrogance.

The post ANALYSIS: Where is this alleged Blackhawks accountability? appeared first on The Rink.

The-Rink.com co-hosts “Gatekeeper” and “JJ” get together for a pre-game Rinkcast just prior to the Blackhawks facing the Arizona Coyotes.

• The Blackhawks play a bunch of overtime and shootout games.
• Injuries to Keith, Shaw, and de Haan.
• Some big announcements regarding The-Rink
• Mario gives us another “award-winning” #Warpigs report.
• More on what the future holds with Jeremy Colliton, Corey Crawford, and Robin Lehner
• Why trading Robin Lehner is not only stupid but unlikely.
• We wrap up with the Blackhawks down 3–0 in the first period.
• We wrap with the Rinkrat PuckBag segment.

Please subscribe, rate this episode, and even write us a review. Reviews will be read on the air.

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The post Blackhawks Rinkcast – Season 3, Episode 7 – Holiday puck bag appeared first on The Rink.

The-Rink.com co-hosts “Gatekeeper” and “JJ” are back at it to discuss the Blackhawks’ spiral downward and glaring mistakes.

• Thank you for the new review, Darth Hawkey
• We have (not one) but TWO new chapters opening up.  Colorado and Columbus.
• We take a few minutes to address the Marc Crawford/Bill Peters situation.
• The Blackhawks lose badly to the Avs twice and the Blues last night
• What can the Blackhawks do as an organization to fix this endless loop of mediocrity?
• Who is untouchable?  Is anyone untouchable?
• We wrap with the Rinkrat PuckBag segment.

Please subscribe, rate this episode, and even write us a review. Reviews will be read on the air.

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The-Rink.com co-hosts “Gatekeeper” and “JJ” reconvene to discuss the Blackhawks’ recent success and their outstanding goaltending.

• Are the Blackhawks really that good, or is this just a brief spark?
• Adam Boqvist sent down to Rockford.
• Brian Campbell’s “One More Shift”.
• Praise for several Blackhawks players, including Kirby Dach.
• Mike Babcock is fired
• We wrap with the Rinkrat PuckBag segment.

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The-Rink.com co-hosts “Gatekeeper” and “JJ” reconvene with Facebook/Twitter sensation Christian Deme, aka StacheESQ, to discuss the Blackhawks plummeting hopes.

• The Blackhawks are 4-7-3 after losing to the San Jose Sharks, Tuesday night.
• Blackhawks traded Brendan Perlini, recalled Adam Boqvist and re-assigned Dennis Gilbert
• If not for Robin Lehner, could the Blackhawks be winless? Also, thoughts on Crawford
• An extended conversation about just what is wrong with this Blackhawks team and franchise.
• We wrap with the Rinkrat PuckBag segment.

Please subscribe, rate this episode, and even write us a review. Reviews will be read on the air.

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Sitting in 6th place in the Central Division, the Blackhawks now have some work to do on the road. They have been getting mostly stellar goaltending from Corey Crawford and Robin Lehner, but the Hawks can’t seem to prevail in one-goal games.

The Hawks had an opportunity to get back on track Saturday against the Carolina Hurricanes.  Here’s the full recap.

First period

After Chicago’s poor performance against the Flyers on Thursday, Colliton was looking for more work ethic from his team to start the game Saturday.  Almost immediately after puck drop, Corey Crawford was faced with high danger chances.  Andrei Svechnikov found the puck near the side of the net for a shot in close, but Crawford came up with the save.  Brent Seabrook had some issues in the first,  turning the puck over and getting beat by Carolina’s quick forwards such as Sebastian Aho.

But not all was bad.  Although Brandon Saad wasn’t on their line today, Dominik Kubalik and David Kampf continued to be strong on the forecheck, producing good shots on net.  Kirby Dach also showed ability in the transition game, although his strength on the puck in the corners was exposed against big defenseman like Joel Edmundson.

Just five minutes into the first period, Duncan Keith was called for a high sticking minor.  Unfortunately for the Blackhawks, this led to a Svechnikov power play goal.  But just a few minutes later, the Hawks had their turn, when Jake Gardiner tripped Alex Nylander in the Canes zone.  Nothing came of the power play, but the Blackhawks did gain some momentum.  Specifically in the last five minutes, the Hawks had chances from Keith, Alex DeBrincat, and Jonathan Toews, but goaltender Petr Mrazek made all the saves.  The period ended with shots even 12-12 but the Canes up 1-0.

YEAH SVECH!!! pic.twitter.com/DUOB4n08JU

— x – Carolina Hurricanes (@Canes) October 26, 2019

Second Period

The Canes started the second period with a heavy forecheck, forcing the Blackhawks to regroup quite often in their own zone.  Dach had more good looks, especially on one strong drive to the net.  He isn’t like other rookies where they just pass to veteran players.  Dach is legitimately trying to make and finish plays on his own sometimes.

Corey Crawford stood strong making big save after big save through the second.  And even though he started the game on the 4th line, Dylan Strome found himself along on a breakaway only to be stopped by Mrazek..

#crOwMG pic.twitter.com/kUlNDz7l99

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) October 26, 2019

Midway through the period, Dach had the puck in the corner when Svechnikov laid a huge hit on him.  There was no immediate reaction from the Blackhawks, but after the play Erik Gusfasson gave Svechnikov a crosscheck.  The Blackhawks had one power play in the period that came from a Martin Necas hooking call, but the Canes killed it off.

In the final minute of the period, the Canes were putting on serious pressure in the Hawks zone when Nino Niederreiter scored putting Carolina up 2-0 going into the third.

Give me fuel!!
Give me fire!!
Give me Nino Niederreiter!! pic.twitter.com/3kYAgp4xyM

— x – Carolina Hurricanes (@Canes) October 26, 2019

Third Period

The third period started poorly for the Blackhawks when Dach got called for a holding minor.  The Canes capitalized on a Sebastian Aho setup to a Jordan Staal goal.  At 3-0, even Crawford was trying to get the offense going by passing the puck from behind the goal up ice to his forwards.

The Hawks couldn’t get much going until late in the period when Nylander drew another tripping minor.  But the Canes killed off the Hawks third power play of the day.  Despite being up late in the third period, Carolina continued to put the pedal to the metal: finishing checks, getting the puck in deep, and giving the Blackhawks no room to skate.

With a minute remaining, Svechnikov scored his second goal of the game.  The final score was 4-0 Carolina with the Blackhawks leading in shots 32-31.  It’s important to note that Carolina blocked 20 shots to Chicago’s nine.

Remember the magic words tomorrow…

"I'M A CANIAC AND IT'S BO TIME"

cc: @Bojangles1977 pic.twitter.com/S1t0VozZQj

— x – Carolina Hurricanes (@Canes) October 26, 2019

What’s Next?

The Blackhawks won’t have much time to forget about this loss.  They get on a plane today and head back to Chicago to face the LA Kings Sunday night.  Today was more of the same with the Blackhawks.  Solid goaltending paired with a lackluster defense and non-existent forwards.

Colliton is doing his best to make this a hard-working team, but the chemistry doesn’t seem to be there.  The Hawks went through something similar last year when they lost several games in a row in the middle of the season.  But with a few really good teams in the central pulling away, it looks like Chicago could be battling uphill for the rest of the year with this kind of start.

The post Recap: Blackhawks blanked 4-0 by Svechnikov, Hurricanes appeared first on The Rink.

What I uncovered was pretty revealing.

When Colliton took over the Blackhawks last season, one of his pet projects was the polarizing subject of just how to use Gustafsson. Gustafsson was signed to a two-year deal and imported from the Swedish Elite League in April of 2015, at 23 years old, after failing to make headway with the Edmonton Oilers organization. His draft rights expired while playing for Swedish powerhouse Frolunda and the Blackhawks swooped in.

In his first year with the franchise, he split time between Chicago and Rockford, amassing 14 assists in 41 NHL games and 11 points (three goals, eight assists) in the AHL, also winning Rockford’s Defenseman of the Year award. He seemed like he might have a future as a middle or bottom-pair two-way defenseman with an offensive edge.

The following season, head coach Joel Quenneville never showed confidence in the then-24-year-old and he spent the entire season in Rockford. Gustafsson has 40 points (five goals, 25 assists) in the AHL for then-Rockford IceHogs head coach, Ted Dent. After sliding down the organizational depth chart and with his contract expiring, it seemed as though Gustafsson’s time with the Blackhawks might have been over.

To the surprise of most, the Blackhawks announced on July 14, 2017 that they had agreed to a one-year extension to keep him in the organization. Despite his decent numbers in both the AHL and NHL, it seems as though the market for his services was not quite what he (or his agent) had hoped for.

With the defensive depth in the organization on the thin side, Gustafsson split his time between Chicago and Rockford once again and worked his way back into the Blackhawks’ lineup for 35 games. Not only that, but he was named an alternate captain for the IceHogs and their new head coach, Jeremy Colliton, despite only playing 25 games.

Colliton just missed facing Gustafsson in both the SHL and Allsvenskan while Colliton was the head coach of Mora IK and, briefly, while he played for Rögle BK in 2009–10, but it can be assumed that Colliton was well aware of one of the top five defenseman in the SHL during his stint there.

Fast forward to last season, following another two-year contract extension, when Gusfasson made the Blackhawks out of training camp and was given an expanded role with the team. Exit Joel Quenneville and enter Gustafsson’s old buddy, Jeremy Colliton. Colliton immediately jumped on the “Gus Bus,” which was a departure from Quenneville’s strict evaluations of players that seemed to be slacking in their own end.

To put it bluntly, the Blackhawks’ defense was the wild, wild west last season.

Looking for something positive to hang onto, with the defense and the penalty kill in the basement, the power play began to breathe new life in the new year. Much of this was attributed to the newest member of the power play unit, new power play quarterback Erik Gustafsson.

This is not totally without merit. He certainly helped them be a better power play: A league-average power play for the season and an elite power play for roughly six weeks.

For those under the impression that the #Blackhawks PP was “fixed” by Erik Gustafsson, you might want to look at this. I’m pretty certain he was still the PP QB in MAR/APR (when they needed it most). pic.twitter.com/OaSC8kAXCF

— G8 (@PuckinHostile) July 12, 2019

As you can see, the Blackhawks’ power play was red hot for a portion of the season when some teams coast. They rest tired players for the playoffs, and this time is when teams also have their bye weeks. It is a strange part of the NHL season. They seized and opportunity, though, and it put them back into playoff contention for a few fun weeks…until the course corrected and they came screaming back down to Earth.

I dug into these statistics even more deeply, though.

Drilled down into the “fixed” power play of the #Blackhawks last season. They rode hot 7 weeks in 3 months and went back to below league avg (19.78%) for the final month and a half.

But hey #AllHailGus pic.twitter.com/RYknhhQmDw

— G8 (@PuckinHostile) July 12, 2019

The Blackhawks’ power play was never “fixed.” The Blackhawks’ power play was “hot.” Not only did this occur in a small portion of the season, but this was, often times, against teams that were simply not good. Florida, Buffalo, Detroit and Ottawa finished as the bottom four teams in the Atlantic Division. The Rangers and New Jersey were the bottom two in the Metropolitan Division. The Oilers and Canucks were two of the four bottom teams in the Pacific. Dallas, Colorado and Minnesota joined the Blackhawks at the bottom four teams in the Central Division. Mind you, they also faced Washington, Pittsburgh, Calgary, Nashville and Vegas, but the point still stands. The Blackhawks got hot against teams that were not.

This is not an indictment on Gustafsson, though. He racked up 60 points and got himself noticed by the rest of the league. Unfortunately, with that notoriety came the realization that he was one of the worst defenders in the league in his own zone. He led the entire NHL in high-danger chances against. He is a liability defensively and should be handled as such. Putting him on the ice against some of the best players in the league has cost the Blackhawks countless goals.

So 6 hot weeks (more specifically 14 games, because there were stinkers in there, too) elevated the Blackhawks all the way up to…league average powerplay.

— G8 (@PuckinHostile) July 12, 2019

The mind can play tricks on you and make you remember things that did not actually happen. It is called the Mandela effect. Just google the Shazam movie conspiracy theory or the “Scott Darling won the Cup for the Blackhawks in 2015” fallacy.

The post ANALYSIS: Was the Blackhawks’ power play really elite last season or just briefly hot? appeared first on The Rink.

The-Rink’s Blackhawks writer and Rockford expert, Mario Tirabassi, was out to catch all the action and report on the latest happenings in camp. Please check out all the pieces from this week, including special daily one-on-one features with MacKenzie Entwistle, Chad Krys and Josiah Slavin.

Please take some time to enjoy our in-depth coverage:

Day 1 (with one-on-one featuring Chad Krys)
Kirby Dach settling into new city and organization
Day 2 (with one-on-one featuring Josiah Slavin)
Blackhawks trade Artem Anisimov to Ottawa for Zack Smith
Alex Vlasic not planning to rush his development
Stan Bowman, Jeremy Colliton address Blackhawks camp on day three
Nicolas Beaudin becoming well-rounded ahead of pro debut season
Day 4 (with one-on-one featuring MacKenzie Entwistle)
Blackhawks development camp wraps up with futures game

Please enjoy this highlight reel set up by Blackhawks defenseman Adam Boqvist, captured by The-Rink’s Aaron Goldschmidt:

.@BoqvistAdam #Blackhawks @BarDown @GoLondonKnights pic.twitter.com/lJffmwpDU2

— Aaron Goldschmidt (@lateinthegoldie) July 19, 2019

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

The post Full wrap-up of the 2019 Chicago Blackhawks development camp (links) appeared first on The Rink.

Colliton, entering his first full NHL season as the Blackhawks’ head coach, has a much different vantage point of camp this summer compared to last and Bowman has made moves that seemingly have improved the Blackhawks on paper heading into 2019–20. Wednesday, they gave their thoughts on where the current group of prospects fit into Chicago’s future.

Bowman, Colliton weigh in on development camp

Bowman entered the media room to address development camp. For the first time in a while, the Blackhawks have more than a small handful of players that have high ceilings and high potential at the next level. For Bowman, he made sure to single out at least four players continuously throughout his 20-minute scrum: Adam Boqvist, Kirby Dach, Ian Mitchell and Alexander Nylander.

Big surprise, right?

For Bowman, development camp is more of an opportunity for the players participating than it is for full evaluations from the coaching staff.

“The big thing for us is to watch these kids, how much they can absorb,” Bowman said. “We’re throwing a lot of information. These are long days for them to have seminars in the morning then they come over and do on-ice work, then they do off-ice work and at the beginning of the week we have a cooking demo for them to learn how to prepare food. So, at the end of the day, it’s a full day for them. So, it’s really for them to grow their games; it’s not so much for us to watch the evaluation.”

As far as players standing out, a few comments made by Bowman on the main four players give an idea of where the organization feels the four are at currently.

“He had a good introduction last year,” Bowman said of Boqvist. “In training camp I thought he fared pretty well, got in some exhibition games. He’s taken a big step, he had a big season. … He really got his game going from November on. I think it started a little bit slow, but for him it was just adjusting to North America and becoming used to the schedule, the pace of the play, smaller ice rink, living in North America is different than Sweden. I think he just seems more comfortable when I talk to him here; he’s a happy-go-lucky guy, but he’s taken that next step.”

Puck battle drills with Alex Nylander (white) and Adam Boqvist (red) #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/n1pfAAUPKz

— Mario Tirabassi (@Mario_Tirabassi) July 16, 2019

“He’s an impressive kid,” Bowman said of Mitchell. “He’s going to be the captain at Denver (University) for a reason. He’s an articulate guy; he’s very team-oriented. You got to give him credit. He feels like there’s unfinished business and I think he’s committed to the team and committed to his teammates. He wants to lead that team and he wants to be, in his words, a difference-maker every night. I thought he had a great season last year and selfishly we think he’s ready to be a pro. … I remember talking to him at the end of the (2017) camp and I said, ‘You really opened our eyes with how far ahead you are relative to some of the other guys there.’ He was the youngest guy there at the camp and he was noticeable. Then, he comes back last year and he takes (a) step forward and here we are now. He’s very noticeable in these drills: just his quickness, how alert he is. He’s got offensive skills, but he also competes defensively. I think what we’re looking for him to do is build on that and become a dominant player like he wants to be. Yeah, we would love to have him as a pro right now, but I think he’s going to be a pro pretty soon. So, let him focus on his path. He has to believe in what he’s doing and it’s not for us to try to talk him in and out of things. Wherever he is, we’re going to support him. But, he’s ready to be a pro right now.”

Denver’s Ian Mitchell #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/xiyXz9dRZW

— Mario Tirabassi (@Mario_Tirabassi) July 15, 2019

“It’s hard not to notice his skill level,” Bowman said of Dach. “He’s a big guy, but he’s got really soft hands; he’s got that long reach and he’s got a quick stick. He’s pretty tricky with the puck, he’s got the ability to hold it out so that guys can’t poke it away and if they try to get it he can pull it through and he’s got quick hands. And I think that’s what you notice. He skates well for a big guy. … These are all things that we liked about him when we drafted him, but when you get him here and put him up against guys that are a couple years older, he’s able to do some special things with the puck, so he’s got all the excitement to be on the ice, he’s a competitive kid, he’s focused, but he’s enjoying himself and he’s got a combination of attributes that we wish everybody had.”

“It was a great sign that he was eager to come,” Bowman said of Nylander. “It was pretty short notice when I talked to him the day of the trade and said, ‘We’d love to have you in Chicago if you can make it work.’ I think he did have a vacation plan, but he canceled that to come here, and that shows his desire to acclimate with our group right away. … His enthusiasm to be part of the group and he wants to get better—he’s very strong, but when you meet him off the ice, he just looks more developed than all these guys. He’s a big kid—he’s almost 200 pounds—so his physical strength is there. Now, it’s just trying to put it all together.”

Slavin (white) battles with Dach (red) #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/TjY9zsx1cg

— Mario Tirabassi (@Mario_Tirabassi) July 17, 2019

Bowman also made note of players like Mackenzie Entwistle and his willingness to embrace his role and the skills set that will create his path to the NHL.

As more of a two-way player, Bowman stated he was impressed that Entwistle at a young age (just turning 20 years old the Sunday before camp) understood what he needed to do to be his best version. Bowman also mentioned the skating abilities of 2019 second round pick Alex Vlasic and how he has kept up to pace, even as being one of the youngest and biggest players in camp.

The buzz word of both Bowman and Colliton to the media was ‘versatility’ when discussing the moves that have been made this summer. Both made the point that the roster is much different than what it looked like at the end of last season.

“We’ve really increased the depth in our group, everywhere…I think we have more versatility to our team; we have guys—we have defenders who can play either side, we have guys who want to kill penalties and defend and take that role, we have forwards who can play different positions, kill penalties, play against good players, so we feel that’s what we were missing to our team,” Colliton said, piggy-backing off Bowman’s comments on Tuesday. “I think we’ve added a little bit of physicality and an edge, which we need to have that dimension. We have to win games in different ways, and I think if you compare the roster now to the one we ended with or the one we had when I first came in November, I think we can win in different ways and we’re prepared to have an excellent season, hopefully.”

Colliton expanded on the versatility of the roster’s current outlook.

“We want to be flexible with how we can build our lineup according to who we’re playing and being able to handle certain matchups,” Colliton said. “I’d like to be a little less reliant on certain players who can only play against the other team’s top players. We’d like to use more of our group. We want to have a flow to the team where we can play at a high pace and put pressure on teams over a 60-minute period, and you need depth in your roster. … We want to have more of the group able to play against anyone, and feel like we’re going to come out on the positive end of it. And, I think, not everyone’s going to have their best game every night. So, when you have players who can play left or right or center or left defense or right defense, then we can play the guys who are going. And the lineup isn’t as static. I think we made some major headway there.”

The Chicago Blackhawks signed goaltender Robin Lehner to a one-year, $5 million contract on July 1.

Another key focus of the roster turnover from last year to this upcoming season is the addition in net of goaltender Robin Lehner. The move came as a surprise to many in the Blackhawks’ fanbase, as it would have seemed penciled in that Corey Crawford and Collin Delia would be the defacto starter and backup heading into the summer. But, with the addition of a quality netminder like Lehner, there comes the question of workload in net and who may be the true starter.

“There’s going to be competition, certainly,” Colliton said of the goaltending situation. “But, I think you look at the teams that have had success; there has been a share, some sort of split. … Those games that maybe the traditionally the backup is playing, we need to win those, too. So now, whoever is in the net, we’re going to get an extremely high level of performance. And if we happen to be unlucky with injuries, we have some protection there, too.”

With Crawford reaching an older age, on top of his recent injury history, one could make the judgement that the split Colliton is referring to may be closer to 50-50 than most would have expected coming into the 2019–20 season.

Colliton made a point to dismiss any rumors that may have circulated that he was ‘anti-Jokiharju’ when the trade to acquire Nylander was announced by the team.

Henri Jokiharju skates against the New Jersey Devils at the Prudential Center on Jan. 14, 2019 in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils defeated the Blackhawks 8–5. (Photograph courtesy of Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

“I only offer my assessment of the players and, ultimately, it’s Stan that makes the call,” Colliton said. “I think there’s this idea that I’m down on Henri. Not at all. I mean he played half a season as a teenager in the NHL. Probably in a perfect world we wouldn’t have had to put him in that position, where he could have been in Rockford and able to really be playing the role that hopefully he can play down the road as being a top-pair D, trying to get to that level. … When you look at our group…we have some really good defensemen coming up. They’re a little bit smaller, a little more tilted toward the offensive side of the game. (Bowman) had an opportunity to add a guy like Nylander and felt like that was the route to go.”

The roster turnover this season in Chicago could rival some AHL-level teams with the amount of new faces joining the fold and the amount of roster spots that are seemingly available for the taking. If development camp is any indication, the players who are making their next steps closer to, or on the way into, the professional ranks in the near future are not going to be handed anything.

“We want it to be difficult to make the team,” Colliton said. “For a young player, it shouldn’t be easy. They are going to have to perform at a really high level to push someone out and that’s exactly what we want. Maybe they show that they can play at our level, but it’s still not our best roster. They can go to Rockford and continue to develop. … If we do end up with an injury or we need to shake things up, we have someone who can step in and make a difference. So that’s huge. Even among the veteran guys, we have some really good players here. There’s going to be competition for—whether it’s a roster spot or ice time or roles—I think all the great teams, they have that.”

The post Stan Bowman, Jeremy Colliton address Blackhawks camp on day three appeared first on The Rink.

Marc Crawford comes off a season where he finished as the interim head coach of the contentious Ottawa Senators. His record with the Senators was 7–10–1 after being thrown into a virtually impossible situation. Before being named interim coach, he served as an assistant under Guy Boucher in Ottawa.

Throughout his 24-year NHL coaching career, the 58-year-old Bellville, Ontario, native has amassed an impressive record of 556–431–103–79 in 1,169 games in Quebec, Colorado, Vancouver, Los Angeles, Dallas and Ottawa. In 1996, Crawford led the newly relocated Colorado Avalanche over the Florida Panthers in the Stanley Cup final. That Cup is his only NHL coaching championship to date.
In 1998, he was named the head coach of the Canadian Olympic team, but the team fell short of a medal, eventually losing to the Czech Republic in a shootout.

Crawford was also helpful in the pre-draft development of Toronto Maple Leafs and Team USA center Auston Matthews when Matthews played for him for the 2015–16 season in the Swiss National League for ZSC Lion. During his tenure in Switzerland, Crawford won the Swiss Championship, the Swiss Cup and three different regular season championship titles.

Blackhawks head coach Jeremy Colliton can only benefit from the added years of experience next to him behind the bench. Assistants Sheldon Brookbank and Tomas Mitell have very limited NHL coaching experience, so Crawford can be leaned on for his veteran coaching presence and knowledge much like Don Granato and Barry Smith were leaned on last season.

It should also be noted that assistant video coach Dylan Crawford is Marc’s son.

The post Blackhawks name Marc Crawford assistant coach appeared first on The Rink.

Derek King named IceHogs’ head coach for 2019–20 season

In early November of the 2018–19 season, the Chicago Blackhawks and Rockford IceHogs underwent head coach changes as the Blackhawks fired Joel Quenneville and promoted Jeremy Colliton to the NHL head coaching position in Chicago. King then moved into the interim head coaching role with the IceHogs for the remainder of the season.

Rockford IceHogs interim head coach Derek King watches on during an IceHogs game this season. (Photograph courtesy of Texas Stars)

Under King, the IceHogs went 29–28–7 and finished in seventh-place in the AHL Central Division with 80 points, seven behind the fourth-place Grand Rapids Griffins for the final Divisional spot in the Calder Cup Playoffs. The IceHogs finished the season with the AHL’s lowest-scoring offense and the 29th ranked power play, but had the goaltending duo that put up the AHL’s best team save percentage and had the IceHogs surrendering the 10th-fewest goals last season. Rockford’s penalty kill finished the season ranked 10th in the AHL.

Similar to the outlook for Jeremy Colliton with the Blackhawks, King will benefit from having a full offseason and training camp as the IceHogs head coach to have more control over the operations of his team and continue his job developing the future of the Blackhawks’ prospect system. King is hailed as a ‘players coach’ and routinely talked last season about letting the players monitor themselves, stepping in when he felt necessary.

Prior to serving as the interim head coach this past season, King had served as an assistant coach for the Toronto Marlies from 2009–2015, an assistant coach for the Owen Sound Attack during the 2015–16 season, and an assistant coach for the Rockford IceHogs from 2016–18. King is also a veteran of 830 NHL games and 299 AHL/IHL games as a player.

The post Derek King named Rockford IceHogs’ head coach for 2019–20 season appeared first on The Rink.

Blackhawks sign Nilsson to contract extension

After completing his first season playing North American professional hockey, Jacob Nilsson has received a contract extension from the Chicago Blackhawks through the 2019-20 season. Nilsson, who will turn 26 in early October, played just two games for the Blackhawks this season and did not tally any points. In his 61 games with the Rockford IceHogs, Nilsson notched 15 goals and 17 assists. He finished sixth on the team in total scoring with 32 points and was named the team’s MVP for the 2018-19 season.

Nilsson played under Blackhawks head coach Jeremy Colliton during the 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons in the HockeyAllsvenskan league in Sweden with Mora IK, prior to Colliton joining the Rockford IceHogs as head coach for the 2017-18 season.

Jacob Nilsson of the Rockford IceHogs. (Courtesy: Rockford IceHogs)

Nilsson is a fine depth forward for the Blackhawks who can play both on the wing and down the middle at Center. In Rockford, Nilsson was used on both the powerplay and penalty-kill units and logged heavy minutes under both Colliton and interim head coach Derek King. His fit in the Blackhawks system is on the lower-end of the totem pole as far as forwards go. He will have a chance at the NHL roster next Summer, but will have to show considerable improvement to his all-around game to make heads turn in Chicago.

Also, the fact that the Blackhawks may draft an NHL-ready Center with the third-overall pick in this Summer’s NHL Entry Draft, doesn’t bode well for his bid to make the Blackhawks out of camp. His contract extension for the 2019-20 season will be a $225,000 reduction against the salary cap for Chicago compared to his original deal with the organization.

The post Blackhawks sign Jacob Nilsson to one-year extension appeared first on The Rink.

9:30 p.m. CST

SAP Center at San Jose

TV/Radio: NBCSCH/WGN

PROJECTED STARTERS

Chicago – Corey Crawford (13–18–3, SV%: .909, GAA: 2.91)

San Jose – Martin Jones (34–17–5, SV%: .898, GAA: 2.91)

TEAM STATISTICS

Power Play

Chicago (20.5 percent, T-11th)

San Jose (23.8 percent, Sixth)

Penalty Kill

Chicago (73.1 percent, 31st)

San Jose (79.7 percent, 19th)

Shorts for/against

Chicago (32.6, T-11th; 34.7, 30th)

San Jose (33.4, Fourth; 28.4, Second)

Shooting Percentage

Chicago (9.9 percent, Ninth)

San Jose (10.6 percent, Sixth)

Faceoff Percentage

Chicago (49.4 percent, 21st)

San Jose (50.4 percent, 13th)

Average height and weight

Chicago 6’1”, 195 lbs.

San Jose 6’1”, 200 lbs.

PROJECTED LINES/PAIRINGS

Chicago Blackhawks

Alex DeBrincat–Jonathan Toews–Patrick Kane

Brendan Perlini–David Kampf–Dylan Strome

Brandon Saad–Artem Anisimov–Dylan Sikura

Chris Kunitz–Marcus Kruger–Dominik Kahun

Duncan Keith–Erik Gustafsson

Gustav Forsling–Brent Seabrook

Slater Koekkoek–Connor Murphy

San Jose Sharks

Timo Meier–Logan Couture–Joe Pavelski

Evander Kane–Tomas Hertl–Gustav Nyquist

Marcus Sorensen–Joe Thornton–Kevin Labanc

Melker Karlsson–Barclay Goodrow–Joonas Donskoi

Marc-Edouard Vlasic–Brent Burns

Brenden Dillon–Justin Braun

Joakim Ryan–Tim Heed

Analysis

The Blackhawks began writing their eulogy on Tuesday night in Arizona as the Blackhawks dropped the contest 1–0. An offense that has been very good all season decided not to show up in a game that could ultimately seal their fate for the season. The Coyotes kept themselves very much in the hunt after Tuesday’s win.

Chicago now may focus on young players getting better looks and the impending draft lottery coming up. Perhaps the Blackhawks can luck out and sneak into the top five and draft a player who may be able to help the roster now, if not sooner than later.

The Sharks are on the complete opposite end from the Blackhawks in the playoff picture. The Sharks have already clinched their trip to the postseason and currently sit second to the Calgary Flames in the Pacific Division standings. Despite losing six straight games, the Sharks are still a much better team than the Blackhawks and should likely be able to use this game to get back to their winning ways.

The Sharks weak point this season has been goaltending. Although he has 34 wins, Martin Jones has struggled this year, posting a .898 save percentage and a 2.91 goals against average (GAA), which is identical to Corey Crawford’s GAA. This is one area the Blackhawks may be able to exploit and aid in continuing the Sharks bad losing streak.

Comment below in our live game thread tonight!

And look for the internet’s most robust recap of the game tomorrow morning on the-rink.com.

The post Preview/Game Thread: Blackhawks at Sharks appeared first on The Rink.

They talked about the recent powerplay explosion, line combinations, thoughts on Stan Bowman, Artemi Panarin talk, defensive prospects and expectations, Corey Crawford and the goaltending, and can they make the playoffs?

On today’s Stebbins Sports 60: @tim_stebbins rants about Sunday’s NFC and AFC Championships and Tuesday’s Baseball Hall of Fame announcements. @Mario_Tirabassi joins the show at 1:30 to talk NHL. Tune in live on https://t.co/rnMBA7KlOB at 1 pm!

— Radio DePaul Sports (@rdpsports) January 23, 2019

The post Rink On The Air: Mario Talks Blackhawks With Radio DePaul Sports appeared first on The Rink.

We talked about the recent offensive explosion, where to go with the goaltending, what to take from coach Jeremy Colliton, and what the future may hold.

If you’d like to listen to the entire show (and we highly suggest it) check it out right here:

The post Rink On The Air: Gate Talks Blackhawks With Shawn And Maya In The Morning appeared first on The Rink.

Speaking to the media about Corey Crawford taking the ice again after his latest concussion, Colliton remarked:  “positive he was out there, but I’m not sure if it means a ton. Hopefully, he continues to feel better.”

Even taken at straight face value, this statement (especially the “not sure if it means a ton” part) speaks volumes.

First, Colliton recognizes what all but the most silly Hawk fans do at this point—that this Hawks season is essentially lost.

Second, that even a “healthy” Crawford (relatively speaking) is not going to give you much more at this point than the tandem of Cam Ward and Collin Delia.

And make no mistake, Colliton is a Delia fan (“he gives us confidence”—say no more).

But taking that a bit further, what all this suggests is, even while the marketing department and team media may occasionally float the trial balloon of “the playoffs are still possible,” Colliton is not mired in the hopes and expectations of a gloried past or a depressingly bad present. Rather, he’s looking ahead—as Hawk fans should hope the entirety of the front office is as well.

To the kind of future that calls for pure, unvarnished player assessment and honesty—right now.

While some in the media, and the fans who follow them, have gotten way out over their skis about Erik Gustafsson’s ability and upside, Colliton clearly seems to see both the potential and the ongoing issues of the 26-year old Swedish defenseman. Colliton has said as much, and he’s followed up with action: a recent benching and a couple of healthy scratches.

Obviously, Colliton is trying to send a message to a player—and most likely also using the crucible of a lost season to decide whether Gustafsson (and others) can or should be part of a future resurgence of the Blackhawks. Because if Gustafsson doesn’t care about or respond to reduced TOI or being stapled to the pine at the end of a game now, he probably won’t when midseason games matter again in a couple of years.

Ditto Dylan Sikura, a recent college prospect, heavily hyped by GM Stan Bowman and the rest of the organization last year and this summer, who has struggled to establish a foothold in the NHL under both Colliton and his predecessor—likely hall of fame coach Joel Quenneville.

What makes Colliton’s forthrightness stand out now is that the rest of the organization seems to be trying to reformulate stale marketing spin (“Believe In One Goal”), with a roster that has more than one foot firmly entrenched in the past. Which brings us back to Colliton’s recent comment on Crawford’s return to the ice—something the media and some fans were quick to jump on as a flicker of “hope.”

But the truth is, while Crawford should be applauded and greatly respected for his battle to regain his health and keep his career going, the harsh reality is that he probably played his last truly meaningful game as a Blackhawk last season, or maybe even in Game 4 of the first round series loss to Nashville the year before.

Like it or not, the rebuild is here—with rebuild-level losing and turnaround timing in not just months, but likely years.

But there’s an earnestness and a seriousness about Colliton that is refreshing and encouraging right now—and reminiscent of Quenneville. So, while the organization and, again, some in the media, are now pushing the narrative of “The Four Horsemen of a Fully Repaired NHL Defense in 2019-20” (junior and NCAA prospects Adam Boqvist, Nicolas Beaudin, Ian Mitchell and Chad Krys), you can bet Colliton will only play those prospects who are fully ready—for their sake and the team’s.

Meanwhile, there’s a lot of hope of an “imminent turnaround” being peddled right now. And what I’m about to say may not go down well for some—it’s probably false. The Hawks, at this writing, are tied with Detroit for the next to worst point total in the league. And they are likely more than 1 or 2 players away from the upper echelons of the league.

It’s going to take time. The Hawks need to be better at every position. At certain ones, a lot better. And not every “hawwwwwt” prospect is going to pan out, maybe not even half of them.

Take heart, though. Jeremy Colliton (at least) has a hard, discriminating eye on what a better future will ultimately look like. And hopefully the rest of the organization, including his front office bosses, shares that vision.

Please comment below.

The post Analysis: Colliton seems to get it appeared first on The Rink.

6:00pm CST
Madison Square Garden
TV/Radio: NBCSN/WGN

PROJECTED STARTERS

Chicago – Collin Delia (3–1–3, SV%: .932, GAA: 2.71)
New York – Henrik Lundqvist (13–12–7, SV%: .908, GAA: 3.04)

TEAM STATISTICS

Power Play
Chicago (17,8%, 20th)
New York (20.6%, 14th)

Penalty Kill
Chicago (73.2%, 31st)
New York (77.1%, 26th)

Shorts for/against
Chicago (31.3, 18th; 34.9, 30th)
New York (28.1, 30th; 33.6, 28th)

Shooting %
Chicago (9.4%, 17th)
New York (9.8%, 13th)

Faceoff %
Chicago (49.8%, 17th)
New York (47.7%, 29th)

Avg. height/weight
Chicago 6’1”, 197lbs
New York 6’2” 199lbs

PROJECTED LINES/PAIRINGS

Chicago Blackhawks

Brandon Saad–Jonathan Toews–Dominik Kahun

Artem Anisimov–Dylan Strome–Patrick Kane

Alex DeBrincat–David Kampf–Drake Caggiula

John Hayden–Marcus Kruger–Brendan Perlini

Duncan Keith–Erik Gustafsson

Henri Jokiharju–Brent Seabrook

Carl Dahlstrom–Connor Murphy

New York Rangers

Chris Kreider–Mika Zibanejad–Mats Zuccarello

Filip Chytil–Ryan Strome–Jesper Fast

Jimmy Vesey–Boo Nieves–Vladislav Namestnikov

Cody McLeod–Brett Howden–Pavel Buchnevich

Brady Skjei–Adam McQuaid

Marc Staal–Anthony DeAngelo

Brendan Smith–Kevin Shattenkirk

Analysis

The Blackhawks’ loss to the Devils on Monday night was not good for the Blackhawks’ playoff hopes, rather it further added to their run for a possible top 5 pick in June. Despite the huge deficit in the second period, the Blackhawks did rally a bit, showing that this team has some heart. To change things up, Jeremy Colliton made yesterday’s practice about having fun, and that “happy hockey players are good hockey players”.

With the two days to mentally and physically recharge, the Blackhawks look to capture two points at MSG before returning home for a Sunday matinee against the defending Stanley Cup champion Washington Capitals. Don’t be surprised if the Blackhawks begin to use a lot of Slater Koekkoek to get a feel for what they have in the newly acquired defenseman.

The Rangers come into Thursday’s contest after a big 6-2 home victory over the Carolina Hurricanes. All six goals were scored by three players (Buchnevich, Zibanejad and DeAngelo all had two goals each) shedding light on the Rangers’ depth.

Although the Rangers have been scoring a lot of goals lately, they are still without one of their biggest difference-makers. Kevin Hayes has missed the last seven games with a mid-body issue, which is a huge blow to the Rangers’ lineup. The pending free agent is having a stellar season (10 goals, 23 assists) and wants to play himself into a new contract for next year, whether that is in New York or somewhere else. The former Blackhawks first round pick may sit longer than ten games, after he was ruled out for New York’s next two contests.

Comment below in our live game thread tonight!

And look for the internet’s most robust recap of the game tomorrow morning on the-rink.com.

The post Preview/Game Thread: Blackhawks at Rangers appeared first on The Rink.

6:00 p.m. CST / 7:00 p.m. EST
BB&T Center
TV/Radio: NBCSCH/WGN

PROJECTED STARTERS

Chicago – Cam Ward (3–2–4, SV%: .891 GAA: 3.81)
Florida– James Reimer (3– 5 –1, SV% .896, GAA 3.27)

TEAM STATISTICS

Power Play
Chicago (13.0%, 30th)
Florida (25.3%, 7th)

Penalty Kill
Chicago (75.4%, 24th)
Florida (74.2%, 29th)

Shorts for/against
Chicago (32.7, T-8th; 32.9, 26th)
Florida (35.5, 2nd; 30.7, T-8th)

Shooting %
Chicago (8.0%, T-26th)
Florida (9.0%, T-24th)

Faceoff %
Chicago (50.1%,17th)
Florida (50.3%, 15th)

Avg. height/weight
Chicago 6’1”, 195lbs
Florida 6’1” 200lbs

PROJECTED LINES/PAIRINGS

Chicago Blackhawks

Brandon Saad–Jonathan Toews–Patrick Kane
Nick Schmaltz–Artem Anisimov–Alex DeBrincat
Alexandre Fortin–David Kampf–Dominik Kahun
Chris Kunitz–Marcus Kruger–Luke Johnson
Duncan Keith–Gustav Forsling
Erik Gustafsson–Brent Seabrook
Henri Jokiharju–Jan Rutta

Florida Panthers

Evgeni Dadonov–Aleksander Barkov–Mike Hoffman
Jonathan Huberdeau–Nick Bjugstad–Denis Malgin
Frank Vatrano–Jared McCann–Troy Brouwer
Dryden Hunt–Juho Lammikko–Colton Sceviour
Mike Matheson–Aaron Ekblad
Keith Yandle–Mark Pysyk
Bogdan Kiselevich–MacKenzie Weegar

Analysis

The Blackhawks have given up a goal in the first minute of the past two games. This team cannot play from behind. A better start is needed.

Chicago takes on the Florida Panthers, tonight, after losing to the Lightning 4–2 yesterday. Florida lost to Carolina, on the road, 4–1.

Goaltender Roberto Luongo left the game in the first period, for Florida, with a lower body injury and did not return. Expect James Reimer in net.

Since Jeremy Colliton took over, the Hawks have collected 6 out of a possible 16 points. As the schedule heats up over the next three weeks, the road does not get any easier for the Blackhawks. Tonight’s two points are a must if the Hawks hope to stay afloat in the Western Conference.

With that being said, is it time for Chicago to start shooting for a top 5 pick in next year’s draft? It’s becoming clear, as currently constructed, this team lacks the playoff talent management is selling.

Comment below in our live game thread tonight!

And look for the internet’s most robust recap of the game tomorrow morning on the-rink.com. 

The post Preview/Game Thread: Blackhawks vs Panthers appeared first on The Rink.

7:30pm CST/5:30pm PST
United Center
TV/Radio: NHL Network, NBCSCH, FS-W/WGN

PROJECTED STARTERS

Chicago – Corey Crawford (4-6-0 W/L, SV%: 0.911 GAA: 2.76)
Los Angeles – Peter Budaj (0-1-0 W/L, SV%: 0.833 GAA: 5.50)

TEAM STATISTICS

Power Play
Chicago (13.8%, 28th)
Los Angeles (14.3, T-26th)

Penalty Kill
Chicago (74.6%, 26th)
Los Angeles (78.4%, 19th)

Shorts for/against
Chicago (32.5, T-9th, 33.1, 24th)
Los Angeles (27.6, 29th, 30.2, 9th)

Shooting %
Chicago (8.4%, 26th)
Los Angeles (7.4%, 30th)

Faceoff %
Chicago (49.9%, T-17^th)
Los Angeles (52.3%, 4^th)

Avg. height/weight
Chicago 6’1”, 195lbs
Los Angeles 6’1” 206lbs

PROJECTED LINES/PAIRINGS

Chicago Blackhawks

Nick Schmaltz–Jonathan Toews–Patrick Kane
Alex DeBrincat–David Kampf–Dominik Kahun
Brandon Saad–Artem Anisimov–John Hayden
Chris Kunitz–Marcus Kruger–Andreas Martinsen
Duncan Keith–Brent Seabrook
Erik Gustafsson–Henri Jokiharju
Brandon Manning–Gustav Forsling

Los Angeles Kings

Alex Iafallo–Anze Kopitar–Dustin Brown
Ilya Kovalchuk–Jeff Carter–Tyler Toffoli
Carl Hagelin–Michael Amadio–Trevor Lewis
Kyle Clifford–Adrian Kempe–Nate Thompson
Derek Forbort–Drew Doughty
Jake Muzzin–Alec Martinez
Dion Phaneuf–Oscar Fantenberg

Analysis

Chicago ended an eight-game losing streak, shutting out the Blues on Wednesday, and look to start a winning streak against a struggling Kings team.

Willie Desjardins, hired as head coach after the firing of John Stevens, has the Kings coming in on a three-game losing streak. Los Angeles managed a measly two goals in those three losses.

The offensive hindered Kings are led by forward Ilya Kovalchuk, signed this summer after a stint in the KHL, with five goals and fourteen points.

Do not adjust your televisions, that was a power play goal on Wednesday. Blues’ defenseman Jay Bouwmeester did kick the puck into his own net, but they all count the same for the Hawks. Brent Seabrook was credited with his third goal of the season, and all things considered, the Hawks’ power play will take it.

Corey Crawford is expected in net tonight. Crawford played excellent in his first shutout of the season. Los Angeles will really on goalie Peter Budaj tonight, both Jonathan Quick and Jack Campbell are out with injuries, and stopped only 15 of the 19 shots he faced on Tuesday.

Comment below in our live game thread tonight!

And look for the internet’s most robust recap of the game tomorrow morning on the-rink.com. 

The post Preview/Game Thread: Blackhawks vs. Kings appeared first on The Rink.

Jeremy Colliton wasted no time getting a healthy Gustav Forsling into the lineup. The 22-year old defenseman forced Brandon Davidson and Jan Rutta into the press box for the evening.

This was your Blackhawks starting lineup:
Nick Schmaltz–Jonathan Toews–Patrick Kane
Alex DeBrincat–David Kampf–Dominik Kahun
Brandon Saad–Artem Anisimov–John Hayden
Chris Kunitz–Luke Johnson–Andreas Martinsen
Duncan Keith–Brent Seabrook
Erik Gustafsson–Henri Jokiharju
Brandon Manning-Gustav Forsling

The action early on was uneventful on both ends of the ice. At the first television timeout, the Hawks were outshooting the Blues 3-2. A slow start, in hindsight, was a great thing for Chicago as they looked more committed to the defensive end.

With just over eight minutes in the period, Blues forward Vladimir Tarasenko, on a 2-on-1 with winger Jordan Schmaltz, was stopped by Crawford. Crawford made a nice read as Schmaltz was forced to his backhand before shoveling a pass over to Tarasenko, who found himself in too deep, and could not tuck the puck in short side.

Exhibit A: pic.twitter.com/p5OCQA10GT

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) November 15, 2018

Following some end-to-end action, the Hawks generated an excellent opportunity after Brandon Saad made a nice play along the wall. John Hayden was the recipient of the Saad touch pass and threw an innocent looking shot on net at goaltender Jake Allen. A soft rebound found Artem Anisimov’s stick but the center could not bury home the rebound.

The period ended with the Blackhawks leading their opponents 10-8 in shots.

St. Louis came out gunning early in the second period. Center Ryan O’Reilly missed a great opportunity when his shot attempt went wide of the net. Crawford appeared to be in desperation mode but the Blues could not find the back of the net.

Less than a minute later, forward Tyler Bozak generated another quality chance for the Blues but was stoned by Crawford.

The Blues third early chance of the period, generated when Crawford misplayed a puck behind the net, also resulted in a nice save. Forward Robert Thomas found the puck on his stick, as Crawford scurried back into his net, but could not slip one past.

Three and a half minutes into the period, Tarasenko took a hooking penalty on Nick Schmaltz. The Hawks went on the power play for the first time tonight.

On the man advantage, Patrick Kane made a nice play along the boards, shaking loose from defenseman Ivan Barbashev, and found Jonathan Toews goal line extended with the pass. Toews took the puck hard to the net, only to find Brent Seabrook coming backdoor with a nice pass. Seabrook’s shot, initially stopped by Allen, ricochet off Jay Bouwmeester’s skate and into the Hawk’s net.

A goal's a goal!#CHIvsSTL pic.twitter.com/pJJlZ7lyfo

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) November 15, 2018

Seabrook’s goal, assisted by Toews and Kane, was his third of the season and a much needed power play goal. Hawks lead 1-0.

Midway through the middle frame, John Hayden put the Blues on the power play, after hooking Robby Fabbri. With not much action happening, it seemed the last thing the Hawks needed was to be shorthanded after taking the lead.

The penalty kill did an excellent job keeping the Blues from sustaining any pressure on Crawford, allowing only one shot on goal. Successfully killing off the penalty, after taking the lead, was a huge boost.

After a Blues turnover, with less than two minutes in the period, Toews found Kane streaking toward the net with a pass, only to have Kane hit the post with his shot. This would not be the last time the Hawks would draw iron.

After two periods, the Blues led in shots 18-15.

Committing to defense continued to be the Blackhawks’ theme. This was never more evident than in the third period. The Hawks would only generate four shots on goal in the last frame, however, went into their best lockdown mode of the season on defense.

The opponents generated some shots early but nothing too difficult for Crawford. With 7:49 left in the game, the Blues had only generated seven shots on goal for the period, none considered a high percentage chance.

The Hawks best offensive chance happened when Henri Jokiharju almost gave his team an insurance marker, with just under three minutes left to play. Schmaltz raced down the left wing and found Jokiharju trailing the play with a nice drop pass. The defenseman ringed a shot off the post, keeping the advantage 1-0.

Blues Coach Mike Yeo pulled the goaltender with 1:20 on the clock, but did not generate much action, until David Perron found himself on the doorstep with :18 to play, only to be denied by a sliding Crawford.

As the horn sounded, Crawford celebrated his 24^th shutout of his career, all the while, Jeremy Colliton quietly shook his assistants hands and walked off with his first NHL coaching victory.

#HAWKSWIN https://t.co/VM1IseBkTQ

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) November 15, 2018

The GOOD:

Corey Crawford bounced back after five straight losses in the crease. The veteran faced only 28 shots tonight but looked to be in great position all night. His confidence level looked great.

A power play goal. The Hawks may have received a little help from Bouwmeester but a power play goal is a power play goal.

Jeremy Colliton’s first NHL win. The 33-year old has been thrust into a difficult spot for any coach, let alone a rookie younger than some veterans.

THE BAD

Outshot 28-19. May be nitpicking here – especially after applauding the defensive effort – but the Hawks had been generating over 33 shots a game.

The post RECAP: Blackhawks Blank The Blues 1-0 appeared first on The Rink.

Chicago Blackhawks (6-8-3) at Carolina Hurricanes (7-7-3)

6:00pm Central/7:00pm Eastern
PNC Arena
TV/Radio: NBCSCH/WGN

PROJECTED STARTERS

Chicago – Cam Ward (3-2-3 W/L, .887 SV%, 3.92 GAA)
Carolina – Scott Darling (1-2-1 W/L, .905% SV, 3.01 GAA)

TEAM STATISTICS

Power Play
Chicago (12.5%, 31^st)
Carolina (14.3%, 27^th)

Penalty Kill
Chicago (76.9%, T-22^nd)
Carolina (71.9%, 28^th)

Shots for/against
Chicago (33.1, T-9^th, 33.0, 24^th)
Carolina (41.8, 1^st, 25.5, 1^st)

Shooting %
Chicago (8.7%, T-25^th)
Carolina (6.5%, 31^st)

Faceoff %
Chicago (50.1%, T-16^th)
Carolina (51.7%, T-7^th)

Avg. height/weight
Chicago 6’1”, 195lbs
Carolina 6’1”, 198lbs

PROJECTED LINES/PAIRINGS

Chicago Blackhawks

Nick Schmaltz–Jonathan Toews–Patrick Kane
Alexandre Fortin–Artem Anisimov–John Hayden
Alex DeBrincat–David Kampf–Dominik Kahun
Chris Kunitz–Luke Johnson–Andreas Martinsen
Duncan Keith–Brent Seabrook
Erik Gustafsson–Henri Jokiharju
Brandon Davidson–Jan Rutta

Carolina Hurricanes

Micheal Ferland–Sebastian Aho–Teuvo Teravainen
Brock McGinn–Jordan Staal–Justin Williams
Jordan Martinook–Lucas Wallmark–Andrei Svechnikov
Warren Foegele–Clark Bishop–Phillip Di Giuseppe
Jaccob Slavin–Dougie Hamilton
Calvin de Haan–Justin Faulk
Haydn Fleury–Trevor van Riemsdyk

Analysis

Here’s a few stats to ponder before the Hawks take on the Hurricanes in Carolina:

-The Blackhawks have picked up one point out of a possible fourteen over the past seven games. Let that stat sink in for a minute.

-Chicago sits second-to-last in goal differential in the entire league at -15. Only the Kings, who also fired their coach, are worse at -17.

-A 3.76 goals-per-game surrendered is only better than the Ottawa Senators. That’s an organization you do not want to be compared to in any category.

-With the man advantage, the Hawks have scored on 12.5% of their chances. Last in the league.

Throw in the fact that Patrick Kane has played 24:33 and 27:43 in Jeremy Colliton’s first two games as head coach and you wonder who else does he trust throughout the lineup? This seems like a player talent problem not a coaching problem.

Good thing the Hawks’ management secured those season tickets in the summer.

Enjoy the game tonight.

The post Preview/Game Thread: Blackhawks vs Hurricanes appeared first on The Rink.

Chicago Blackhawks (6-7-3) at Philadelphia Flyers (8-7-1)

12:00pm Central/1:00pm Eastern
Wells Fargo Center Philadelphia
TV/Radio: NHL Network, NBCSCH/WGN

PROJECTED STARTERS

Chicago – Corey Crawford (3-5-0 W-L, .904 SV%, 3.07 GAA)
Philadelphia – Brian Elliott (5-5-0 W-L, .899 SV%, 2.93 GAA)

TEAM STATISTICS

Power Play
Chicago  (13.5%, 29th)
Philadelphia  (14.6%, 26th)

Penalty Kill
Chicago (75.5%, 23rd)
Philadelphia (68.4%, 30th)

Shorts for/against
Chicago (33.1, 9^th/33.5, T-24^th)
Philadelphia (30.8, 18^th/29.8, 8^th)

Shooting %
Chicago (9.0%, T-20th)
Philadelphia (10.6%, T-9th)

Faceoff %
Chicago (49.5%, 18th)
Philadelphia (55.4%, 2nd)

Avg. height/weight
Chicago 6’1”, 195lbs
Philadelphia 6’1”, 197lbs

PROJECTED LINES/PAIRINGS

Chicago Blackhawks

Alex DeBrincat–Jonathan Toews–Brandon Saad
Nick Schmaltz–Artem Anisimov–Patrick Kane
Andreas Martinsen–Luke Johnson–Alexandre Fortin
John Hayden–David Kampf–Dominik Kahun
Duncan Keith–Henri Jokiharju
Erik Gustafsson–Brent Seabrook
Jan Rutta–Brandon Manning

Philadelphia Flyers

Claude Giroux–Sean Couturier–Travis Konecny
Oskar Lindblom–Nolan Patrick–Jakub Voracek
Dale Weise–Jordan Weal–Wayne Simmonds
Scott Laughton–Jori Lehtera–Nicolas Aube-Kubel
Ivan Provorov–Robert Hagg
Shayne Gostisbehere–Christian Folin
Travis Sanheim–Radko Gudas

Analysis

The Blackhawks square off in Philadelphia, for a matinee game, against the Flyers. Chicago enters the game on a six-game losing streak, losing 4-3 to Carolina, while Philadelphia defeated the Coyotes 5-4 in overtime, both on Thursday.

Jeremy Colliton relied heavily on Patrick Kane, who logged 27:43 of ice time, for offensive production versus Carolina. Kane did find the back of the net for his 12^th goal of the season. The crafty forward already has six multi-point games this season, which included this past game as he assisted on  Nick Schmaltz 2^nd goal this season.

Flyers Captain Claude Giroux leads the team with 19 points this season. The 30-year old first line center has back-to-back multi-point games coming into today’s contest. Power Forward Wayne Simmonds paces the Flyers with 7 goals.

Both teams are expected to rely on their veterans in goal. Corey Crawford, who broke his stick over the net after giving up his fourth goal on Thursday, looks to carry over his play from the last two periods. Brian Elliott will backstop the Flyers.

For the Blackhawks sake, lets all hope Eric Semborski isn’t needed for this one.

Comment below in our live game thread tonight!

And look for the internet’s most robust recap of the game tomorrow morning on the-rink.com. 

The post Preview/Game Thread: Blackhawks vs. Flyers appeared first on The Rink.

Back in Black#WinterClassic https://t.co/Bg2IkLFc0y

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) November 8, 2018

Trying to fill the void behind the bench left by Joel Quenneville is nearly an impossible task for Colliton. If he is going to make a difference for the club, he would have to be himself and do what made him successful in his previous two coaching jobs. Problem is, he didn’t previously have the less-than-desirable quality of roster he has now with the Blackhawks.

Before most could finish their first beverages of the night at the United Center, Chicago trailed the Hurricanes 3-0. While they finally woke up about half-way through the game, the comeback was too little too late and the Hurricanes were able to hold on for the 4-3 win.

The Jeremy Colliton Era Begins With A Whimper

The Blackhawks defense has been a focal-point so far this season, causing headaches and heartaches for many as they watch a once dynamic blue-line duo of Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook age and decay (by NHL standards), and live with defensemen playing roles that they otherwise would not be forced into if they were playing on a more skilled roster.

Blackhawks lineup:
DeBrincat-Toews-Kahun
Schmaltz-Anisimov-Kane
Saad-Kampf-Fortin
Kunitz-Kruger-Martinsen

Keith-Jokiharju
Gustafsson-Seabrook
Davidson-Rutta

Crawford

Erik Gustafsson, seemingly forgetting which team he was playing for early in the first period, made a number of poor decisions with the puck that led to high-danger scoring chances early for the Hurricanes. Eventually it would be Andrei Svechnikov getting the game’s opening goal on a rebound chance, his fourth of the season.

At the mid-way point of the first period, with Carolina on the powerplay, it would be Jaccob Slavin with another rebound goal for the Hurricanes to make it a 2-0 game on his second goal of the year. The poor play in their own zone continued in the first period for the Blackhawks as they gave up the 3-0 goal with just over four minutes remaining in the opening period. A turnover led to Phil Di Giuseppe netting his first goal of the year and it looked to be a long night for the Blackhawks.

The second period would begin much like the first for Chicago, sloppy and seemingly disinterested. Missed assignments in their own zone led to another high-danger chance for the Hurricanes and this time it was Calvin de Haan, sneaking in from the blue-line, to bury his first goal of the year to give Carolina a 4-0 lead early in the second period. Corey Crawford smashed his stick in half after the 4-0 goal and who could blame him after being continuously left out to dry by the guys in front of him?

Blackhawks Comeback Falls Short

When it seemed like all might be lost on the opening night of the Colliton regime, the Blackhawks caught a break in transition in the second period. After Brent Seabrook broke up a 3-on-1 chance for the Hurricanes, Patrick Kane and Artem Anisimov charged on a 2-on-1 the other way. Kane tried to set-up Anisimov but the pass was broken up by former Blackhawks Stanley Cup Champion Teuvo Teravainen. Hurricanes starter and former Blackhawks Stanley Cup Champion Scott Darling made the initial save on the loose puck, but Kane followed up by lifting the stick of former Blackhawks Stanley Cup Champion Trevor van Riemsdyk and was able to bang home the loose rebound chance to stop the bleeding at 4-1 with his 12th goal of the year. How about that?

Chicago began to turn up the pressure on the Hurricanes after getting on the board, leading to Brandon Saad putting the puck on net and David Kampf coming away with a deflection goal to cut the Carolina lead in half at 4-2. Kampf’s second goal of the year and Chicago had life again.

FINAL: Hurricanes 4, #Blackhawks 3.

Shot attempts: 71-50 CHI
Shots on goal: 38-34 CHI
5-on-5 scoring chances: 37-24 CHI
5-on-5 high danger chances: 15-9 CHI pic.twitter.com/HHd6qfFRJn

— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) November 9, 2018

The Blackhawks were able to cut the Hurricanes’ lead down to 4-3 early in the third period on Nick Schmaltz‘s second goal of the year. With Chicago putting more and more pressure on Carolina and Crawford shutting the door, it seemed like the epic comeback was in the cards on this night. But, ultimately it was not meant to be as time ran out on the Blackhawks and they came away the 4-3 losers of the night.

Stats For Your Consideration

A couple of things stood out from the score-sheet in the first game under Jeremy Colliton for the Blackhawks:

• Erik Gustafsson led all Chicago defensemen in ice-time with 24:15 minutes played
• Artem Anisimov and Brent Seabrook led the team in shots on goal with five each
• Chicago was 23-for-45 on faceoffs with Jonathan Toews going 16-for-24 on his own
  • Toews took 24 faceoffs, while David Kampf was second on the team with seven (2-for-5)
• Patrick Kane led the team in ice-time with 27:43 minutes played
  • Kane’s second-highest time played in his career in the regular season (1st – 28:48)
• The Blackhawks were able to out-shoot the NHL’s leader in shots-per-game, 38-34

Hard Times Ahead

The regulation loss sees Chicago’s record fall to 6-7-3, extending winless streak to six games, going 0-5-1 over that stretch. With 15 points in the standings, the Blackhawks sit in sixth-place in the NHL Central Division, two points ahead of the St. Louis Blues with three fewer games played. The Blackhawks are back in action on Saturday afternoon as they travel to Philadelphia to take on the Flyers for a Noon CT puck drop.

After that, the Blackhawks are on the road against these same Hurricanes in Carolina, then have a three-game home-stand against the St. Louis Blues, Los Angeles Kings, and Minnesota Wild.

While the Kings and Blues currently sit behind the Blackhawks in the Western Conference standings, there are no “easy games” ahead for Chicago. The coaching change made away from Joel Quenneville and forward with Jeremy Colliton will bring changes and hopefully positive ones. But, it is the roster construction, not coaching techniques and strategies, that is holding this Blackhawks team back. The players have to execute on the ice for the team to have success. It’s a simple statement, but it’s true. Jeremy Colliton, nor Joel Quenneville, are the ones turning over pucks in the defensive zone that lead to high-danger scoring chances against Corey Crawford and Cam Ward. If those mistakes on the ice do not change, shortly the Blackhawks will become the “easy game” on the schedule of the NHL.

The post RECAP: Blackhawks Comeback Falls Short Against Hurricanes appeared first on The Rink.

Carolina Hurricanes (6-7-2) at Chicago Blackhawks (6-6-3)

7:30pm Central, 8:30pm Eastern
United Center
TV/Radio: NBCSCH/WGN 720

PROJECTED STARTERS

Chicago – Corey Crawford (3-4-0 W-L, .907 SV%, 2.92 GAA)
Carolina – Scott Darling (0-2-0 W-L, .893 SV%, 3.14 GAA)

TEAM STATISTICS

Power Play

Chicago (14.0%, T-27^th)
Carolina (12.5%, 29th)

Penalty Kill

Chicago (76.6%, 23rd)
Carolina (69.8%, 29^th)

Shorts for/against

Chicago (32.8, T-10^th, 33.5, T-24th)
Carolina (41.6, 1st, 24.3, 1^st)

Shooting %

Chicago (9.3%, T-16th)
Carolina (6.3%, 31st)

Faceoff %

Chicago (49.4%, 18^th)
Carolina (52.3%, 4^th)

Avg. height/weight

Chicago 6’1”, 195lbs
Carolina 6’2” 198lbs

PROJECTED LINES/PAIRINGS

Chicago Blackhawks

Alex DeBrincat–Jonathan Toews–Brandon Saad
Nick Schmaltz–Artem Anisimov–Patrick Kane
Andreas Martinsen–Marcus Kruger–Alexandre Fortin
Chris Kunitz–David Kampf–Dominik Kahun
Duncan Keith–Henri Jokiharju
Erik Gustafsson–Brent Seabrook
Jan Rutta–Brandon Davidson

Carolina Hurricanes

Micheal Ferland–Sebastian Aho–Teuvo Teravainen
Warren Foegele–Jordan Staal–Justin Williams
Jordan Martinook–Lucas Wallmark–Andrei Svechnikov
Brock McGinn–Nicolas Roy–Valentin Zykov
Jaccob Slavin–Dougie Hamilton
Calvin de Haan–Justin Faulk
Trevor van Riemsdyk–Brett Pesce

Analysis

Jeremy Colliton, coaching his first NHL game after the firing of Joel Quenneville, takes over the reigns of the Hawks after a season plus as the head coach of the Rockford IceHogs.

The 33-year old Colliton is tasked with improving the special teams. Both the power play and penalty kill rank in the bottom third of the league, respectively.

On the surface, the Hurricanes look like a great first opponent for a rookie head coach. However, a deeper look at the numbers show Carolina can play in both the offensive and defensive zones (currently 1^st in both shots for and shots against).

A little “puck luck” and the Hurricanes could have a completely different record than their 6-7-2 mark. Currently last in the NHL with a 6.3% shooting percentage, a correction to league average would make the Canes a tough offensive threat.

Corey Crawford, on a three-game losing streak, squares off against Scott Darling, having lost both of his starts this season after returning from a lower-body injury. Darling, a Lemont, IL native, was a member of the 2015 Stanley Cup winning Blackhawks.

Comment below in our live game thread tonight!

And look for the internet’s most robust recap of the game tomorrow morning on the-rink.com. 

The post Preview/Game Thread: Blackhawks vs. Hurricanes appeared first on The Rink.

I touched on this at the end of last night’s Blackhawks Rinkcast, but it needs to be reinforced and probably will be for quite a while. In this culture, with all the outrage, we need to reel this back in, come together as Blackhawks fans and agree on one thing:

Don’t take your anger out on Jeremy Colliton.

Regardless of your opinion on the move, how it was handled or whether the right guy was turfed, one thing is undisputed; None of this is Jeremy Colliton’s fault.  It just isn’t.

It is going to be very easy for us as fans (myself included) to fall into the lazy behavior of criticizing any move Colliton makes (or doesn’t make), to validate your anger or disappointment in the coaching move. If you want to be mad and lash out, blame John McDonough.

This is a move that was made at the top of the organization and Stan Bowman was forced to abide by it. Joel Quenneville was Bowman’s security blanket. He masked many of Bowman’s questionable moves, or lack of moves, with his solid reputation as a head coach.

Was it perfect? Of course not!

Joel Quenneville was very frustrating, at times, to the outsiders.  Infuriating, even.

Nothing against Colliton, but Stan Bowman will be exposed very blatantly if he continues to do his job (or more specifically not do it) the way he has recently. He cannot hide behind a 33-year-old rookie head coach that has been coaching in North America for under 18 months. Colliton will have his own challenges.

This brings me to my original point. As fans of this team, like Colliton, we were all dealt this bad hand. The best thing we can do is rally behind him. If he fails (and he certain might) he will write this chapter of his career. We cannot write this chapter for him, before he has coached a single NHL game.

Remember, this is the same team that slam-dunk future Hockey Hall of Fame coach Joel Quenneville could not mask the problems of. Colliton is inheriting the same non-playoff team that was performing like a non-playoff team. In firing Joel Quenneville, Stan Bowman did not also acquire a couple of top four defenders, or a Thunderdome tough center that can win draws and is a bloodhound defensively.

AGAIN, THIS IS NOT JEREMY COLLITON’S FAULT.

So, as we celebrate the launch of the Winter Classic sweaters later today and we then watch the Blackhawks take on the Carolina Hurricanes in game one of Colliton’s NHL coaching career, remember one thing:

It starts at the top. Blame this corporate meddling mastermind

Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images

The post ANALYSIS: Resist The Urge to Blame Jeremy Colliton appeared first on The Rink.

The-Rink.com co-hosts Jeff “Gatekeeper” Osborn and John Jaeckel get together with The Rink Rockford Icehogs Head Writer Mario Tirabassi to talk about the Blackhawks firing Joel Quenneville and his assistants, then promoting Jeremy Colliton.

• Joel Quenneville out, Kevin Dineen out, Ulf Samuelsson out.  Jeremy Colliton in, Barry Smith in, Don Granato stays, Jimmy Waite stays.
• Derek King takes over in Rockford while Sheldon Brookbank stays there as an assistant.
• We dissect yet another awkward press conference in Blackhawks lore.
• Mario give us more insight into Coach Colliton.
• Very in-depth talk about the move, what led up to it, what the future could hold.
• We spend a good hour focussing on some great listener and reader questions

Please subscribe, rate this episode, and even write us a review. Reviews will be read on the air.

Also, Please help spread the word to more #RinkRats and visit our sponsor www.PUCKHCKY.com. Use the discount code “THERINK” for 10% off all orders.

The post The Blackhawks Rinkcast – Episode 35 – Quenneville Fired appeared first on The Rink.

New King Of The Castle

If you have been living under a rock the last 30 hours, the Chicago Blackhawks made the decision to fire head coach Joel Quenneville after 11 years behind the bench. Quenneville helped lead the Blackhawks to three Stanley Cups in his tenure and recorded the second-most wins as a coach in Blackhawks franchise history. With the removal of Quenneville, Chicago announced that Rockford IceHogs head coach Jeremy Colliton would take his place.

Colliton, at 33-years old, becomes the youngest current coach in the NHL, making his NHL coaching debut on Thursday night against the Carolina Hurricanes. He amassed a 46-31-11 record at the AHL level with Rockford in his time behind the bench. The move left the IceHogs without a head coach, and that is where Derek King comes into play.

King, an assistant coach with the IceHogs for the last two seasons, made his head coaching debut on Wednesday against the Iowa Wild. After playing 14 seasons (830 games) in the NHL, King began his coaching career in the 2009-2010 season with the Toronto Marlies in the AHL. King spent six seasons with the Marlies as an assistant/associate coach before continuing his career as an assistant coach with the Owen Sound Attack in the Ontario Hockey League for the 2015-16 season before joining the IceHogs.

King, along with assistant coach Sheldon Brookbank, take control of the IceHogs and have to manage the high-expectations on the team after the work that the two helped build with Colliton over the last season and change.

The expectations continued on Wednesday morning against the Iowa Wild in King’s head coaching debut.

Rockford IceHogs Fall To Iowa Wild

A rare morning puck drop signaled the third game in-a-row between the Iowa Wild and the Rockford iceHogs in less than a week’s time. Having taken three of four points against the Wild in the previous two meetings and on a four-game points streak, the IceHogs were looking to keep their hot-stretch of play going.

They would not.

The Rockford IceHogs pregame before taking on the Iowa Wild. (Courtesy: Rockford IceHogs)

Collin Delia would get the start in net for the IceHogs opposite Kaapo Kahkonen for the Wild. The two dueled in the Nov. 3 game between the teams in which the Wild were able to come away winners, 2-1, in the shootout. Wednesday’s game would be another contest that would be just as tight between the two goaltenders, but the Wild were able to stifle the Rockford offense.

Collin Delia makes a save against the Iowa Wild. (Courtesy: Rockford IceHogs)

The Wild got on the board first in the first period thanks to a powerplay goal from Sam Anas, his first goal of the year. In the second period, the Iowa added to their lead as Matt Read banged in a goal past Delia, Read’s first goal of the season. Iowa killed off five powerplay chances against the, with the IceHogs threatening on only one chance in the third period. Rockford pulled Delia late and Cal O’Reilly netted an empty-net goal to seal the game for Iowa. Rockford shutout for the first time this season with Kahkonen making 28 saves on all 28 shots faced. Delia with a 25-save performance, facing 27 shots on net, sees his record fall to 4-2-2 this season.

What’s Next?

The Rockford IceHogs are off until the weekend when they will have back-to-back road games against AHL Central Division foes.

On Friday, the IceHogs travel to take on the Milwaukee Admirals in Milwaukee. The IceHogs and Admirals battled a week ago in Milwaukee, a 3-2 overtime win for Rockford. Puck drop on Friday is scheduled for 7:00pm CT at the Panther Arena.

On Saturday, the IceHogs head to Rosemont to take on the Chicago Wolves. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00pm CT at the Allstate Arena. Saturday marks the first Illinois Lottery Cup Rivalry game between Rockford and Chicago this season.

The post Rockford IceHogs Fall In First Game Under Derek King appeared first on The Rink.

In his first year behind the bench for the IceHogs, Colliton helped lead a young core of players to a 40-28-8 record in the 2017-18 season, finishing fourth in the AHL Central Division and reaching the Western Conference Finals in the Calder Cup Playoffs.

For the IceHogs, it was a return to the postseason after finishing last in the division in 2016-17 and ended in the deepest run in the Calder Cup Playoffs in the franchise’s history. A great amount of the success can be traced back to Colliton and his approach to the game with the young roster he was given to work with.

One-On-One With Jeremy Colliton

After such a successful season last year, the IceHogs have high expectations during the 20th Anniversary year of professional hockey in the Rockford community. Colliton will have a decent number of young players returning after last season’s success, along with a good amount of promising first-year pros joining the team as they try to replicate and improve upon last season’s finish.

Jeremy Colliton behind the bench for the Rockford IceHogs. (Courtesy: Manitoba Moose)

I was lucky enough to catch up with IceHogs Head Coach Jeremy Colliton as he prepares for the 2018-19 season and we talked about the short summer for the IceHogs, his outlook on developing players in the Blackhawks system, who he is excited to coach in his second year behind the Rockford bench, and which part of the hockey stick he would prefer to be.

Listen to the full interview here:

A few things stood out in my discussion with Colliton, here are some of the notable pieces:

On familiarity from year one to year two…

“We had a lot of first-year guys last year and a lot of those guys will be back. We’ll have a lot of first-year pros again this year. A lot of the guys we had last year will get a chance to pick up where we left off last year. For me, I want to be better every year. I’m looking forward to that challenge and we felt like last year as a group we had some success, but no one is satisfied.”

On players coming in this season who he is excited to see develop…

“One guy who jumped out (last year) was (Joni) Tuulola. I didn’t know him at all and he came in and forced his way in to the lineup where he could help us. He goes a couple of months without playing and jumps into the Conference Finals and did well for us. He’s played pro, been a pro in Finland, but it’ll be interesting to see how he adjusts to his first year in North America as a defenseman.”

Victor Ejdsell of the Rockford IceHogs. (Courtesy: Todd Reicher)

“Some other guys in excited to see are our second-year guys like, we had (Anthony) Louis who had an excellent rookie season. (Matthew) Highmore had an excellent rookie season. (Victor) Ejdsell, he came over late, but they all had one good year. The challenge for them is to not step back, and continue to build.”

On potential three-goalie situation in Rockford…

“It’s important to go in without any pre-conceived decisions made. We got to let it play out during training camp and the preseason. That is going to give us a lot of information to make our decision. The best guys are going to play. I like the idea of spreading out the work, but the guys who earn the opportunity will get more. We want to have competition, but they will kind of make the decisions for us. We have really good prospects at that position and our job is to develop them. I think the competition and urgency every night will be a big part of their development.”

Collin Delia of the Rockford IceHogs. (Courtesy: Greg Hamil)

On balancing player development with finding team success…

“I think the importance is on both aspects. Our main goal is to develop players to help the Blackhawks win a Stanley Cup. How we do that is by teaching them how to win here. If they can help us win in Rockford, the more likely they can contribute at the NHL level. The lessons and what is important and how we hold guys accountable, hopefully how they hold each other accountable, that’s what is going to help them when they get to Chicago. … In my view, development and winning go hand-in-hand.”

I ended the interview with a few hypotheticals, which are always fun.

Would you rather be the handle of a hockey stick or the blade of the stick?

“I honestly have never been asked that before, but I think you want to be the blade. That’s where the action is.”

Would you rather have total control of the weather or $10 million?

“Total control of the weather. If you can control the weather, everything else will take care of itself. Coming from a farming background, if you can control the weather, you’ll be alright.”

It was great to talk with IceHogs Head Coach Jeremy Colliton as he gets ready for the NHL and AHL season to begin. Rockford will once again be an exciting team to watch with the roster of young players slated to be in the mix this season. Along with an expanded AHL Central Division in 2018-19, the 20th Anniversary season for the IceHogs is already shaping up to be can’t miss hockey.

But, when isn’t it?

The post One-On-One: Rockford IceHogs Head Coach Jeremy Colliton appeared first on The Rink.

If you have not checked out the previous videos please take a look:
Highlight video of Victor Ejdsell
Highlight video of Dominik Kahun
Highlight video of Lucas Carlsson

Today, Eric Andrews brings us Swedish forward Jacob Nilsson.

Nilsson is an undrafted depth center/left wing signed to and entry level contract by the Blackhawks on 5/31/18 after playing for Rockford Icehogs head coach Jeremy Colliton two years previous in Sweden. He is 24-year-old, 5’10”, 180 lbs and accrued over 40 games of professional experience in the Swedish Elite League (SHL), this past season. In his first professional season he had 18 points(8G, 10A) while also scoring four goals in nine games of international play for Team Sweden.

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The post Chicago Blackhawks Prospect Spotlight – Jacob Nilsson (VIDEO) appeared first on The Rink.